


Bittersweet

by Clotilda_Willard



Category: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-02-18 13:52:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2350706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clotilda_Willard/pseuds/Clotilda_Willard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story is based on a deleted scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It takes place the night Etta Place leaves them in Bolivia to return to the United States. The scene was not in keeping with the good-natured humor of the rest of the film, in fact, was much too serious an omen of things to come.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bittersweet

The first time Butch saw The Kid he knew their destinies would be inseparable right up until the day they died.

The two, along with the rest of The Hole In The Wall Gang, had fallen into the bank and train robbing business quickly and with ease. They were good at robbing. And, on occasion, with the same ease Butch and Sundance fell into bed and each others’ arms. They were good at that too.

For The Kid sex was sex where and with whom he found it.

For Butch it was a new and not totally unpleasant experience, only Sundance’s damn lip fuzz was a constant reminder that they were both men.

Of course, there were always women but sometimes a man needed something more, something a woman couldn’t give. The Kid knew what Butch wanted. Butch knew what The Kid needed. And that’s how it was right now. Etta was on her way back to the United States. Now they only had each other to rely on.

Butch thought about Sundance back in the early days when they were young and full of vinegar and thought they were invincible.

The moment he saw Sundance he was intrigued. He wondered if the man got his name for the way the sun danced through his shaggy golden blond hair. Or maybe it was the man’s dazzling smile that could put the sun to shame. Then, of course, there was Sundance’s striking turquoise colored eyes. How could anyone have eyes that color? He wondered why The Kid was often moody, even sullen? Sundance didn’t talk much about his past, in fact, never had much to say and his answers were terse at best. The only time he seemed to come alive was when he and Butch were robbing or rutting. They indulged in both enthusiastically.

The Kid had a way about him when he was holding someone up at gun point. All he had to do was shine that smile and flash those blue eyes and they almost willingly parted with their worldly treasures. And if it was a woman, well, he made it seem like an honor. Yeah, The Kid sure had a way about him. His smile could lure a saint no less his outlaw partner into sin.

But things hadn’t been going too well for them lately. The final straw had come tonight. Etta had left on the night train to return to the United States. She’d only ever had one caveat about going with them to Bolivia. She swore she wouldn’t stay to see them die. Was her leaving premonition, omen or had she just grown tired of their lives’ of crime?

Sundance wouldn’t openly admit that her going meant anything to him. He tried to drown his impending loneliness in a bottle of whiskey. Butch wondered if she even realized how much her actions would destroy the man. To Butch it was clear as day.  But even more devastating to The Kid was what had happened while Etta was slipping away from them.

At her insistence they had gone to a traveling show to watch the new miracle of moving pictures. There was a news reel with President Teddy Roosevelt and some politician named Woodrow Wilson—things sure had changed since they left America. They started to leave the tent thinking the show was over. All three were half way up the aisle when the screen lit up again and a title frame came up that stopped them dead in their tracks. **_‘THE HOLE IN THE WALL GANG’_** flickered on the screen. Both men were momentarily flattered and fascinated by the portrayal of their lives and times in the new medium of silent movies. Etta didn’t wait for it to be over. She slipped out of the tent and headed for the train station. They never saw her go.

The fascination for Butch and Sundance quickly changed to shock and anger. Sundance in particular. Butch too, only not as vocal. Both watched horrified and open-mouthed as they saw themselves portrayed as murderous bastards who pillaged the countryside and shot the unarmed and innocent. And in the flicker they had been brought to justice, hunted down and shot like mad dogs by a well-armed posse led by Joe Lefors and his Indian tracker, Lord Baltimore. Goddamned Lefors! They couldn’t get away from the man…even in the movies.

It had taken every ounce of Butch’s strength to pull Sundance from the tent. The Kid went raving mad trying to tear down the screen and destroy the projector and film. Butch had never seen this side of Sundance. Sure, the man could be moody and quick to anger when provoked. He wasn’t the greatest talker, either, unless he had something to say. And he sure as hell had a lot to say. The whiskey had loosened his tongue and his control. Butch had never seen this side of Sundance. It was revelatory and frightening.

He’d dragged The Kid back to their rooms and sat with him for sometime while they doused their anger and disbelief in more whiskey. Finally, Sundance had passed out and Butch tucked him in before returning to his own room.

But, Butch couldn’t sleep and a short time later he heard his room door open. There was a soft pad of feet and then the sound of a shin connecting with a chair, followed quickly by an angry “sonofabitch”, followed by the sound of shed clothing dropping to the floor. Sundance slipped under the covers and curled up against Butch’s back wrapping his arm around the man.

“Been expecting you, Kid. Can’t sleep, huh?”

“Why’d they show us doing those things?” Sundance asked again as he had at the flickers, as he had all the way back to the hotel, as he had over and over while they were drinking. Only now he sounded lost and forlorn.

“I don’t know.”

“We never killed all those people. We didn’t do any of those things the way they showed. Why’d they show us being hunted down and killed? We ain’t dead.”

“Yes we are.” Butch sighed. “In people’s minds we are. We’re only a legend now. Our time is dead and us with it. The world has passed us by and I don’t think we can ever catch up.”

“Butch, I’m afraid. I don’t know how to be anything but an outlaw. Ain’t never been afraid like this in my life.”

“I know.” Cassidy rolled over and pulled Sundance into his arms, giving the stability and comfort Etta had once provided. “But there isn’t anything to be afraid of because I’ve got you.”

They were on their own with only each other to look to for safety and solace. Sex was an unbreakable bond between them. Always had been, even when Etta was in Sundance’s life. Whatever the future held, it would be both their futures.

“You always know what to do, don’t you?” Sundance said looking pleadingly into Butch’s eyes.

Butch nodded and smiled then kissed Sundance. He felt the urgency in the man’s response, understood Sundance’s need to assure himself he was still alive.

The taste and scent of whiskey and cigars filled Butch’s senses. The hard press of The Kid’s prick told him where to start.

Butch made love to Sundance’s cock with his mouth, knowing how much The Kid liked it. And, when he’d come and lay relaxed and waiting on his stomach, Butch prepared the blond before settling on top of him and entwining their fingers. He kissed the man’s shoulders and neck. Sundance raised his hips as best he could with Butch’s weight on him.

“Ready, Kid,” Butch whispered into Sundance’s ear.

“What do you want, an engraved invitation?” Sundance murmured sounding a bit more like his old self.

 Butch chuckled as he plowed hard into Sundance’s body, knowing they both needed this, knowing the initial pain and eventual pleasure would obliterate, as least for a while, the uncertainty of their futures.

Later as Sundance rested peacefully at his side, Butch started making plans.

 “What are you thinking?” The Kid asked, hand running over Butch’s chest.

“That it’s time we caught up with our past and faced the future.” Butch rested his hand over Sundance’s.

Sundance understood what Butch was saying. He nodded against Butch’s shoulder. “Whatever you think is best, that’s what you’re good at. I know our time has come and gone. I just want to face whatever waits together.”

“Haven’t we always?”

“Yeah.”

Sundance rolled to his side and propped up on one elbow.

They gazed into each other’s eyes.

“No regrets, Kid?”

“No regrets, Butch.”

“Good, ‘cause I’ve been thinking about taking the monthly payroll shipment for the _Aramayo Franke y Cia_ silver mine.”

“Where the hell’s that?” Sundance bitched sounding a lot more like his old self.

“Just outside of San Vicente. We take the payroll, should be fifteen, twenty thousand. Hold up in the town overnight and catch the train out of there and Bolivia in the morning and head back to the States.

“You think it will work?”

“It’ll work, Kid, one way or another.”

Sundance smiled. That killer smile that promised the world. That smile that meant The Kid was back on track again.

Butch knew everything would be okay.

They moved into each others’ embrace again. Kissing, touching, giving pleasure and taking sanctuary, living for the moment as they always had. They both sensed their day would be soon and they put all they were, all they ever would be into this moment. They would never admit it was lovemaking but it was the closest they’d ever get.

Oh, they’d continue to piss and moan and complain about anything and everything to each other. It was their way. But when that time came, they’d stand tall and brave. They’d face history head-on and make their own legend. Everything would be all right because they would do it together. Living and dying on their terms. Taking the real truth with them to their graves. Fuck Lefors and that poor excuse of a movie about their lives. Maybe someday the real story would be told.

**Author's Note:**

> Robert Leroy Parker (Butch Cassidy) and Harry Alonzo Longabaugh (The Sundance Kid) allegedly died November 7, 1908 in San Vicente, Bolivia. The two men did hold up the Aramayo Mine shipment and then high-tailed it to the local town of San Vicente. They stayed in a lodging house for the night. The next day they planned to leave the country and take a chance in Australia to live out their lives in peace and comfort.
> 
> Unfortunately, the mule with the payroll bore the brand of the Aramayo Mine Company and it was recognized and the local police were notified. Early in the morning of November 7, gunfire erupted as the law finally caught up with the two outlaws. After a long firefight, the lawmen heard a single shot from the boarding room and then one more and then all was silent. After sometime, the authorities entered the room and found two men dead. Their arms and legs were riddled with bullets but the Sundance Kid had a single bullet in his forehead. His body was slumped against Butch. Cassidy had a single shot through the temple and the now empty pistol was still clutched in his hand while his other arm held The Kid close.


End file.
